After losing money two of the previous three years, Papillion's two city-owned golf courses — Eagle Hills and Tara Hills — turned a profit of nearly $90,000 in their 2010-11 season, which ended Sept. 30.
Trimming labor costs and holding off on some optional purchases led to saving more than $202,000 — 11 percent of the budget — said Lori Hansen, parks and recreation director for the City of Papillion.
Of the cuts, more than $109,000 came from the category of clubhouse expenses.
"We need new carpet, new furniture and new tables — especially at Tara," she said. "We pulled back on some expenses."
Given that the courses brought in $162,214 less than forecast, the cuts were likely the only thing that allowed the courses to make a profit last season.
Nearly $93,000 in additional savings came from the maintenance department. Simply switching the brand of fertilizer saved about $12,000, said Tom James, Papillion's director of golf maintenance.
The remaining cuts were made by monitoring hours. Work on the golf course stayed almost identical despite the cost-cutting measures. "We didn't edge the sand traps of the golf courses, which takes a really long time, but nobody would probably notice," James said. "We maintained the golf course pretty much the same."
Hansen said golf courses nationwide were struggling to draw golfers during the recession. The 36,343 rounds played last season at Eagle Hills and Tara Hills were the fewest the past four seasons — down 2,138 rounds from the previous season and 5,198 less than in 2008-09.
Much of the reason the courses ended in the red in 2007-08 ($366,808) and 2009-10 ($115,327), Hansen said, was because of debt payments. The debt payments have decreased from $630,000 in 2007-08 to about $421,000 last season.
For the new season that started Oct. 1, golf course employees are again working to keep costs low and increase rounds played.
"We have to play to our strengths," Hansen said. "We've got to keep our prices competitive and find ways to get new golfers onto the course."
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